Orbital ATK received a $359 million contract to continue full-rate production of AGM-88E AARGM missiles

F-18F - flightglobal.com

Navy contracts Orbital ATK for additional AARGM missiles

Orbital received the $359 million contract to continue full-rate production of AGM-88E advanced anti-radiation guided missiles.

By Richard Tomkins   |   Sept. 27, 2017 at 1:50 PM

Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Orbital ATK announced Wednesday a U.S. Navy contract to continue full-rate production of AGM-88E advanced anti-radiation guided missiles.

The contract, worth $359 million, included an initial award of $157 million for Lot Six full-rate production of the missiles and an option for Lot Seven.

"Today's battlefield is rapidly evolving and the number of threats emerging around the world continues to grow," Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK's Defense Electronic Systems Division, said in a press release.

"AARGM is an affordable solution that provides advanced capabilities to those protecting our nation and allies each and every day."

The AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system that upgrades legacy AGM-88 HARM system. It is able to engage traditional and non-traditional advanced land- and sea-based air-defense threats and time-sensitive targets.

Orbital ATK said the contract covers all-up round missiles and captive air training missiles for the U.S. Navy, Italian Air Force and other allies through Foreign Military Sales program. The missile is integrated into the weapons systems on the FA-18C/D Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft.

Original post: upi.com

About the AGM-88:

The Raytheon AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) is an air-to-surface tactical missile designed to seek out and destroy enemy radar-equipped air defense systems and transmitters. The AGM-88 can detect, attack and destroy targets with minimum aircrew input. Production of the HARM missile commenced in 1982 and was approved for Full Rate Production (FRP) in March 1983 and was used the first time against Libyan targets in 1986. Also, the AGM-88 was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and in 2003, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the firing of more than 400 HARM missiles quickly eliminated enemy radar.

The AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) is a new and upgraded version of the AGM-88B/C HARM. AARGM is a cooperative effort between the governments of the United States and Italy to provide the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and Italian Air Force with the latest and most advanced weapon system to engage and destroy enemy air defenses and time-critical mobile targets. AARGM is an air-to-surface supersonic, medium-range, tactical missile compatible with U.S. and Allied fighter and attack aircraft. Compared to the legacy AGM-88 HARM, the AARGM features an advanced digital anti-radiation homing sensor, an MMW-radar terminal seeker to counter enemy shutdown capability, precise GPS/INS guidance, net-centric connectivity, and a Weapon Impact Assessment (WIA) subsystem. AARGM is produced by Alliant Techsystems (now Orbital ATK) in a cooperative effort with MBDA Missile Systems. 

In September 2013, Orbital ATK announced the delivery of the 100th AARGM to the U.S. Navy. Initial Operational Capability (IOC) was declared for AARGM in July 2012 and the missile has been in Full Rate Production since August 2012. 

On September 25, 2013, Orbital ATK was awarded a $102.4 million contract to convert 112 AGM-88B HARM missiles to AGM-88E AARGM all-up-rounds. On August 11, 2014, Orbital ATK was awarded a $96.2 million contract by the U.S. Navy for the third full-rate production lot of AGM-88E AARGM missiles (HARM upgrade missiles). On September 2015, Orbital ATK was awarded awarded a $119 million contract for the fourth FRP lot of AARGM missiles + for a fifth lot for up to $141 million. 

Raytheon has developed a HARM upgrade, called the AGM-88F HARM Control Section Modification (HCSM). HCSM adds a GPS receiver, an improved inertial measurement unit for precision navigation and also features a digital flight computer that merges targeting solutions from navigation and seeker systems. The HCSM is more precise and accurate, thus reducing potential collateral damage. HCSM is available through Foreign Military Sales (FMS).

Applications/Platforms: 

The AGM-88 HARM is fielded on the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F/A-18C/D Hornet, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and on the electronic attack fighters EA-18G Growler and EA-6B Prowler (retired). The AGM-88E AARGM is currently fielded on the U.S. Navy F/A-18C/D Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and EA-18G Growler, as well as on Italian Air Force Tornado ECR aircraft. In the future, the missile may also be fielded on the F-35 Lightning II.

Source: fi-aeroweb.com

General Characteristics
Primary Function: Air-to-surface anti-radiation missile
Contractor: Raytheon Co.
Power Plant: Thiokol dual-thrust rocket motor
Thrust: Dual thrust
Length: 13 feet, 8 inches (4.14 meters)
Launch Weight: 800 pounds (360 kilograms)
Diameter: 10 inches (25.40 centimeters)
Wingspan: 3 feet, 8 inches (101.60 centimeters)
Range: 30 plus miles (48 plus kilometers)
Speed: Supersonic
Aircraft: Used aboard the F-16C
Guidance System: Proportional
Warheads: High explosive 

Source: af.mil

Orbital ATK is Delivering Software Upgrade for Anti-Radiation Guided Missile to U.S. Naval Fleet

AARGM Block 1 Software Upgrade to Provide Higher Performance Capabilities

Dulles, Virginia 28 August 2017 -- Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, is rolling out the Block 1 software upgrade to the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM).  Earlier this year, Orbital ATK and the U.S. Navy completed testing, demonstrating the effectiveness of the software upgrade. “Fielding Block 1 software provides U.S. and allied forces with higher performance against air defense systems,” said Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK’s Defense Electronic Systems Division of the Defense Systems Group. “Our ultimate goal is to protect warfighters and AARGM allows them to quickly, safely and accurately locate and destroy targets, whether on land or on sea, while remaining out of harm’s way.” AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system, upgrading legacy AGM-88 HARM systems with advanced capability to perform Destruction of Enemy Air Defense missions. AARGM is able to rapidly engage traditional and advanced land- and sea-based air-defense threats, as well as non-radar targets leveraging a Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS) guidance and millimeter wave (MMW) guidance. AARGM is a U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force international cooperative major acquisition program with the U.S. Navy as the executive agent. AARGM is currently deployed and supporting operational requirements for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The missile is integrated into the weapons systems on the FA-18C/D Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. AARGM is anticipated to achieve Initial Operational Capability on the Italian Air Force’s Tornado ECR aircraft in 2018. Orbital ATK’s Defense Systems Group is an industry leader in providing innovative and affordable precision and strike weapons, advanced propulsion and hypersonics, missile components across air-, sea- and land-based systems, ammunition and related energetic products. About Orbital ATK Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies.  The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and merchant supplier.  Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK employs approximately 13,000 people across the U.S. and in several international locations.  For more information, visit www.orbitalatk.com.